Alley Kat Brewing Co. Back Alley Brews #1: Spruce Almighty Spice / Herb / Vegetable at 5.2% ABV (C$7.99 at Willow Park Wine & Spirits, 650 ml, no bottle date or best before, acquired 19-Jul-2016, reviewed 20-Jul-2016)
Appearance: slightly hazy pale amber with one finger of dense, almost creamy light ivory head, excellent retention and decent lacing. (4/5) Aroma: mild evergreen (yes, OK, spruce tips), light citrus, pale malt. (7/10) Taste: moderate sweet, moderate bitter. (7/10) Medium body, moderate carbonation, off-dry mildly bitter finish. (4/5)
To say I went into this with “a little trepidation” would be putting it mildly. My first couple of forays into this style have covered a range of “deeply strange and off-putting” to “somewhat strange and off-putting”. This, though? Not very off-putting at all. The spruce tips actually work reasonably well with the typical pine/citrus flavours of starts-with-C hops. My biggest complaint is that the hopping could’ve stood to be more emphatic: more hops could’ve pushed this into world-class territory, but as it stands it’s just quite good. (15/20)
7.5/10 #ryansbooze ryansbooze.com
